Yesterday (Friday) my mom and I ended up hiking at Henry W. Coe State Park. It’s about an hour away, nestled high up in the hills a little bit south of San Jose. After you get off 101, you go up a twisty windy road that eventually leads you to the park. It was actually a fun road to drive on, but slightly nerve-wracking – the road is narrow so you have to be careful every time you go around a turn.

Once we got the the park we decided to do a short 3.7 mile hike. It took us about 1.5 hours (maybe a little more?). We stopped to take pictures of flowers because my mom likes to look them up and find their names. We also picked up 2 huge pine cones that actually still had their nuts inside. My mom wants to figure out if we can do something to make them edible – they’re really hard right now. Any ideas?

For Bobby’s birthday dinner we didn’t go out to Japanese… we made our own sushi! The spread was huge.

We had salmon sashimi and a mix of chopped salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. The sushi rice was just white rice mixed with a rice vinegar and sugar sauce. I had 1 piece of salmon and a lot of the yellowtail (one of my favorites).

My mom and I made seaweed salad (seaweed, daikon sprouts, pickled daikon, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice vinegar). I also bought fresh kimchi at Han Kook (Korean grocery where I got the sushi) and marinated short ribs (beef). I made a smallish salad of romaine, parmesan, and honey mustard dressing. I had almost all of the seaweed, a lot of kimchi, almost all of the salad, and about 2 bites of the beef. The beef was delicious, but red meat is iffy for me… especially if it’s not organic. Bobby loved it though, and since it was his birthday I was totally okay with making steak.

I also made kabocha two ways – fries (olive oil, oregano, salt) and steamed (with smart balance). My mom does not think kabocha is anything special. So sad. More for me though! I ended up eating most of these (though Bobby did like the fries a lot).

It was a really good dinner. I hope Bobby had a great birthday! I miss having intricate dinners like this. I used to make them a lot more often.

Today we were up bright and early (well, 10ish for me) to head out to the farmers’ market. We browsed and bought fresh goodies, then headed back home. My mom bought this spring roll ($3) and wanted me to put it on the blog. (Rice paper, shrimp, pork, vermicelli, lettuce, mint + a yummy hoisin dipping sauce.)

After eating we went hiking again at Castle Rock State Park, about 20 minutes away. This route was much more challenging but so fun. Bobby and I had hiked it once before but we’d forgotten how intense it is. It was 5.1 miles of inclines, climbing, and rocks. It took almost 3 hours but I love hiking like this.

We’re pretty burned out, so we’re staying in tonight. I have to prepare for my first SAT class tomorrow (I’m teaching math) – I’m kind of nervous but excited at the same time.

17 Comments on So much hiking

Ooh I hate those really narrow roads like that! They scare me so much. When we go to the Smoky Mountains, they have a ton of roads like that and I’m always screaming at my dad to SLOW DOWN!!!! haha. Those hikes sound like fun!

I love that dinner spread. Everything looks so fancy and delicious. I’m sure Bobby had a great birthday 😀

I hate twisty mountain roads. I always feel like my heart is in my throat and on family trips my dad likes to pretend he’s some kind of Indy 500 racer on them… I’m getting sweaty palms just thinking about it!!

hiking sounds soooo fun! I didn’t go yesterday, now I regret about not going! I love hiking during summer time, it feels so good after exploring the nature.
dinner looks delicious!!! Love how you prepared everything for Bobby, I think birthday celebration at home is better because you dedicate more on preparing all the food.
sorry that your mom didn’t find kabocha interesting…. but I guess that’s not a big surprise, since most of people are not so obsessed with it!
have a nice Sunday!

The hiking sounds like it was a lot of fun. Bobby is lucky to have a girlfriend like you–the birthday spread looks awesome. Yummy kimchi, seaweed salad, and kabocha! I just had some yesterday, and it reminded me of you. Sad that your mom doesn’t enjoy it :(, but her Spring Rolls look might tasty 😀

Maggie,
Check out that spread. I totally would have joined you in copious amounts of kabocha eating. I got another not so sweet one yesterday. What’s up with that? Hoping the other 4 I bought are better. Where do you store all your squash. We have no pantry and now our counter is full of kabocha. I kind of like having them out in the open as I think they’re such a pretty veggie., like my own little counter top pumpkin patch.

Sounds like Bobby had a wonderful birthday, and I’m so glad you’re enjoying having your mom in town.

What a cool pinecone. And your sushi dinner looks great. I’ve never tried making it. It’s funny that something I swore I’d never eat several years ago is something I now crave. Sushi is so light, fresh, and delicious.

Good luck with the SAT teaching, Maggie! If those kids are REALLY smart, they will love you.
And hiking! I LOVE hiking…the last time was in the Shenandoah mountains with my parents…10 miles! I was stronger back then…
KIMCHI! I hope you have leftovers!

All the food looks awesome! What a wonderful way to celebrate Bobby’s birthday! The spring roll looks really good, too. Your hikes sound great. But I’m not too crazy about the twisty, windy road to get there…

Hmmm making pine cones edible? Is that possible?
I’m glad Booby and a good B-day and you are having a great time with you mom. Mom’s are the best!

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